Review

Book Review: Small Favor (The Dresden Files #10) by Jim Butcher

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The new novel in the New York Times bestselling Dresden Files series. No one’s tried to kill Harry Dresden for almost an entire year, and his life finally seems to be calming down. For once, the future looks fairly bright. But the past casts one hell of a long shadow. An old bargain has placed Harry in debt to Mab, monarch of the Winter Court of the Sidhe, the Queen of Air and Darkness-and she’s calling in her marker. It’s a small favor he can’t refuse…one that will trap Harry Dresden between a nightmarish foe and an equally deadly ally, and one that will strain his skills-and loyalties-to their very limits. It figures. Everything was going too well to last..

So it has been almost a year since Harry Dresden was in a life or death struggle this must be some kind of record for him! Of course nothing can ever stay simple in Harry’s life and soon enough Mab the Queen of air and darkness is calling it a marker on a debt he owes her that is of course when the book really gets good. This is now book number 10 and I can say none of the books in the Dresden files have been disappointing, small favor is action-packed and full of a lot of different things that we all love about Harry. You would think by now that some of the stories would start to be reused it is after all book 10 and other authors have been known to use it. Period. I won’t say who the are though.

There were times in small favor where I thought Harry might’ve lost the plot for once it is Harry and he has been taking on a lot in the last several years. However he goes on to prove once again why he is my favorite wizard for higher even going so far this time to help in destroying an aquarium. Yes an aquarium to be fair the bad guys started it as they usually do. Overall a solid book and a great read that kept me entertained and well connected to the series well done Jim Butcher!

My Gemstone Rating:

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Book Review: Kitty Kitty Bang Bang (Pampered Pets Mystery #3) by Sparkle Abbey

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Caro Lamont—pet therapist—and her cousin Melinda Langston—owner of The Bow Wow Boutique—pamper the kitties and pooches of Laguna Beach’s elites. Unfortunately, their human clients keep turning up dead.

“We were at an art exhibition at The Montage,” I told the detective, “and Kitty asked me to take her cats home because something had come up. Something urgent. It seemed strange, but then the whole evening was strange with dogs and cats. Ones that paint, I mean. And Kitty would never leave her cats, but she did, so it must have been really urgent . . .”
Detective Judd Malone looked past me. “Are those the cats?”
I nodded.
“What kind are they? They’re huge.”
“They’re Bengal cats. Bengals are a hybrid. A cross between a domestic cat and an Asian Leopard Cat. It’s a relatively new breed. Most have . . .” Malone’s face said TMI. Fair enough, more info than he’d been looking for.
“I imagine you know I’m here about Ms. Bardot?” Malone was suddenly all business.
“Yes.” I held my breath and hoped for good news.
“Caro.” He paused. “She didn’t make it.”
“She—” I felt my throat close, and I swallowed hard trying to get control of my emotions. “Too many injuries?” I finally asked. Whatever her emergency had been, it had seemed to upset her. She’d been shaken, and Kitty was never shaken. I remembered her voice as she’d asked me to take care of Tobey and Minou and get them home. The cats. What would happen to the cats now? “Was she driving too fast?”
“Not exactly.” Malone’s voice was serious and grim. “We won’t know until we have a lot more information from the crime lab. It’s too soon to tell, but it may have been a case of road rage. Kitty Bardot was shot.”

Sparkle Abbey is the pseudonym of two mystery authors (Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter). They are friends and neighbors as well as co-writers of the Pampered Pets Mystery Series. The Pen name was created by combining the names of their rescue pets – Sparkle (Mary Lee’s cat) and Abbey (Anita’s dog). They reside in central Iowa, but if they could write anywhere, you would find them on the beach with their laptops and depending on the time of day, with either an iced tea or a margarita.

This is a fun read and even though I have not read the whole series I really enjoyed it and the overall fun romp. There was danger but like the style of cozy suggests there was nothing to dark. The cats really makes me giggle you can’t help but smile when they appear especially if you are a cat lover like me.

The book itself is well written and there are some interesting stories. While I did have the idea of who the killer was longer before the reveal gave it I enjoyed it. The book was fun and it did not take me long to get through.

toop style=”text-align: center;”>My Gemstone Rating:

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Book Review: White Night (The Dresden Files #9) by Jim Butcher

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The inspiration for the Sci Fi channel television series

In Chicago, someone has been killing practitioners of magic, those incapable of becoming full-fledged wizards. Shockingly, all the evidence points to Harry Dresden’s half-brother, Thomas, as the murderer. Determined to clear his sibling’s name, Harry uncovers a conspiracy within the White Council of Wizards that threatens not only him, but his nearest and dearest, too…

The Dabel Brothers are bringing the Dresden Files to life in comic book form—look for issues beginning April 2008! View more here!

Another great Dresden book, Harry is up to his chin in trouble with White Night. Just when you think he cant get in any more trouble he does. Thomas seems to be the cause of some murders going on but in the end Harry finds out the big secret, Thomas was protecting them not harming them. The best part? Thomas has a new job and without spoiling it all I can say is, it will make you laugh and then laugh some more. I know I did. I could hardly fathom it and yet then it made so much sense!

Harry manages to find out who is really behind the deaths and it is not overly shocking in the end. He has to expend a lot of magic and there is more then enough danger to go around. His little padwan Molly starts coming into her own and overall. It is just another solid installment of the series. I simply can’t get enough of Dresden. I know it seems like I am mosting nothing but Dresden as of late but the books are addicting.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Blog Tour: Book Review: Broken Arrows (The Cupid Chronicles #1) by Chelsey Butler

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Tour Page and Schedule

Broken Arrows by Chelsey Butler

Page Count: 174 pages
Released Feb. 6, 2014
Adult Romantic Fantasy

Cari Harris lives what should be a charmed life. She owns a quaint bed and breakfast in a charming southern town, is surrounded by loving friends and family, and possesses magical powers. Most of the residents in Fable, GA, are descended from mythical creatures straight out of fairy tales, and Cari is no exception. As a descendent of Cupid, she has the ability to see when two people are soul mates and the power to make sure they fall in love. However, this power is sometimes more of a curse than a blessing, because Cari is also the town screw up.

While hosting a murder mystery weekend at her inn, she tries to match a young couple and makes a huge mistake. Now she must fix her mistake before the guests leave at the end of the weekend, all while making a bigger mess of things along the way, in her typical fashion.

As if Cari didn’t have enough to worry about already, her old boyfriend just moved back to town. Years ago, she forced herself to stop thinking about Mike, but now that he’s back, there is no avoiding him. It’s a small town and she keeps running in to him, no matter how much she hopes to avoid it. When she stumbles across some unexpected secrets, and Mike helps her with her current matchmaking dilemma, all of her feelings from the past come flooding back.

Goodreads | Amazon

Chelsey Butler was born and raised near Fort Worth, Texas. She still lives in north Texas with her husband and four daughters, but she rebels against the Texan stereotype. She loves God, her family, and all things involving books, and is a self-proclaimed nerd, a history buff, and vintage enthusiast. She also writes young adult fantasy under the name S.G. Tillery. Chelsey loves hearing from her fans and encourages them to find her on Facebook.


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Giveaway:

$10 Gift Card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Gemstone Rating:

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My Review:

This was a great mystery that was well written and entertaining. Cari the main character is likeable, and interesting and she sure has a lot on her plate! As a note, I would also love to have a bed and breakfast so I am a little be jealous of her job! Overall, she is a character you can relate to and enjoy which for me always makes the book more enjoyable.  The flow of the book overall is pretty good, there was one or two points that dragged a little bit for me but overall it all worked well together. I would recommend this one as a read to my friends, and I can’t wait to read the next instalment of the Cupid Chronicles. My biggest wish? That it was longer!

This tour was organized by CBB Book Promotions.

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Book Review: Death Masks (The Dresden Files #5) by Jim Butcher

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Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only practicing professional wizard, should be happy that business is pretty good for a change. But now he’s getting more than he bargained for.

A duel with the Red Court of Vampires’ champion, who must kill Harry to end the war between vampires and wizards…

Professional hit men using Harry for target practice…

The missing Shroud of Turin…

A handless and headless corpse the Chicago police need identified…

Not to mention the return of Harry’s ex-girlfriend Susan, who’s still struggling with her semivampiric nature. And who seems to have a new man in her life.

Some days, it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed. No matter how much you’re charging.

Another solid installment of the Dresden files and I really am still enjoying Harry’s adventures. I liked the new cast of characters that came into this installment we met more of the Holy Knights and some of them were characters! The Russian I think was my favorite and I loved how he moved through things and helped Harry, and the others.

I don’t want to sound like a broken record but really this is a solid series with characters that I truly enjoy. Harry makes me laugh and smile and I love that in a book. You also feel for him on some of the other issues that he must deal with. I hope that he finds someone to care about, I know there is Susan but we see how things go through this one. You feel for him. Well done Mr. Dresden keep on trucking.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Book Review: Confessions of a Call center gal

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Madison Lee is a fresh college grad, ready to take on the world of print media. But she has zero luck landing a job. Unemployment is at ten percent and on the rise. Desperate and left with no other options, she accepts a position as a service rep at a call center in Pocatello, Idaho. At the Lightning Speed call center in Spudsville, Maddy plunges into the wild and dysfunctional world of customer service where Sales is prided over Service and an eight hour shift is equivalent to eight hours of callers bashing her over the phone. Oh sure, the calls are bad. But Maddy manages to find humor on the phone and off the phone. And with all the salacious drama behind the calls, there is never a dull moment at the Lightning Speed call center.
Lately . . . Maddy has been pining for her smolderingly gorgeous co-worker Mika Harket. Now things are heating up on the phone–and elsewhere. Don’t hang up on this novel. Working at a call center has never been this garish . . . or this delightful.

This is a very funny tongue and cheek book and I had fun reading it. Some of what is it in might be considered politically incorrect, but it is all said in good fun and frankly in a way that often happens in a call center. Like the author I have worked in a call center and can say a lot of what goes on is right on the mark. It is funny and also just a fun story of friends and a little bit of romance.

The only reason that  I didn’t give this book 5 stars is sometimes the British wording threw me off. I know that seems like a silly reason, but I expect my American authors to word in an American form (and I read the author bio to make sure). That is my only niggle and the book is great otherwise. I had a lot of fun reading the book and it is a great Chic lit book.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Book Review: Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

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Harry Dresden–Wizard
Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.

Business has been slow. Okay, business has been dead. And not even of the undead variety. You would think Chicago would have a little more action for the only professional wizard in the phone book. But lately, Harry Dresden hasn’t been able to dredge up any kind of work–magical or mundane.

But just when it looks like he can’t afford his next meal, a murder comes along that requires his particular brand of supernatural expertise.

A brutally mutilated corpse. Strange-looking paw prints. A full moon. Take three guesses–and the first two don’t count..

Another good book in the series of Dresden. I am really enjoying the strong, modern and yet old fashioned guy that makes Harry. I was not sure that I would like the wolves because as a general rule I am not a fan of werewolves however I really enjoyed the way they were presented in Fool Moon. I like that there are different kinds of them and good ole Harry is pretty good at dealing with all of them.

From an entertainment POV this book ticks all of my boxes and I plan on continuing with the series. One of the last things I need is getting deep into another series, and yet I am very excited about this one. I would highly recommend anyone who has not read the series start and then keep on!

My Gemstone Rating:

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Blog Tour Book Review: A Thousand Perfect Things by Kay Kenyon

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In this epic new work, the award-winning Kenyon creates an alternate 19th century with two warring continents on an alternate earth: the scientific Anglica (England) and magical Bharata (India). Emboldened by her grandfather’s final whispered secret of a magical lotus, Tori Harding, a young Victorian woman and aspiring botanist, must journey to Bharata, with its magics, intrigues and ghosts, to claim her fate. There she will face a choice between two suitors and two irreconcilable realms.

In a magic-infused world of silver tigers, demon birds and enduring gods, as a great native mutiny sweeps up the continent, Tori will find the thing she most desires, less perfect than she had hoped and stranger than she could have dreamed

I have to say that this book is so strange and so brilliant all at the same time. It was a very enjoyable read and it was something completely different then what I have been reading so far this year. I was looking forward to reading this one, and was not let down which was nice because all to often I end up being let down by books that I really want to read.

Kay Kenyon has created a beautiful alternative history with A thousand perfect things and I love her version of London, and the world in general. The descriptions are fantastic and vivid lending to the story so well you can’t help but picture everything that is happening. This one is going to be a read again for me.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Book Review: Storm front by Jim Butcher

- Ambrosia Leave a comment

Harry Dresden — Wizard

Lost items found. Paranormal Investigations.
Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates.
No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or
Other Entertainment.

Harry Dresden is the best at what he does. Well, technically, he’s the only at what he does. So when the Chicago P.D. has a case that transcends mortal creativity or capability, they come to him for answers. For the “everyday” world is actually full of strange and magical things — and most of them don’t play well with humans. That’s where Harry comes in. Takes a wizard to catch a — well, whatever.

There’s just one problem. Business, to put it mildly, stinks. So when the police bring him in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with black magic, Harry’s seeing dollar signs. But where there’s black magic, there’s a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry’s name. And that’s when things start to get… interesting.

Magic. It can get a guy killed.

A good friend of mine has been telling me to read these books for a long time. I always meant to just put them on the long line of books that I needed to get to. I am sure you all know that kind of pile. Well I finally got around to the audio book since that is my latest thing to try and boy am I glad I did. Putting aside that James Marsters reads them (love) the book was great.

Harry is my kind of guy, he can laugh at himself, he takes life seriously and even when he is down he finds a way to pick himself up and fight back. He can wield magic but always tries to do so with a good purpose. Yes Harry Dresden is my kind of guy and my kind of wizard. I love the crime solving aspects as well and I can just picture Murphy in my head. I am still working on coming to terms with some of the terms used in the Dresden world but overall thumbs up from me. I loved it and I am eager to start with the next in the series.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Blog Tour Book Review: Warrior’s Moon by Jaclyn Hawkes

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They loved each other desperately.
Never in all the kingdom has there been a more brave and protective champion. Nor such a loyal and capable maiden.
He rescued her the first time when she was three years old in a killing storm. Years later, he was still occasionally rescuing her. ‘Twas in him to be a hero, and she had a pure intrepid way of getting into the kinds of scrapes that took rescuing. With such a brawny, masculine guardian around, ‘twould have been a fair pity to waste the gallantry anyway.
Their childhood friendship between two young peasants had grown into a devotion few are ever blessed to experience. It was strong enough to withstand all their dark age held—danger, feudalism, disease, and unfair oppression.
Or is it strong enough? They truly loved each other desperately.
They loved their kingdom more.

This was a great read, fast and fun. I enjoy a good romance and this one is not only a good romance but one with a deep story and history to it. We start the book with a tragedy which kind of slaps you in the face a bit but in a way that gets your attention and pulls you into the book. From that point on you find yourself invested with the characters. Investment in the characters is key at least for me to enjoy any book.

I did feel the middle point dragged just a little bit, not enough to make me upset or turned away from the book, just the one point that kept me from giving 5 gems. Other then that this is a great read and I would highly recommend it. There are Christian themes but it is proper for the time period and does not as i like to say “over take the general message” of the book. Two thumbs up for Warrior’s moon.

My Gemstone Rating:

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